| Author | Message | ||
     Nikoff90 |
Winter is hitting quickly here in Buffalo NY and I am thinking about the winter bike maintenance. My stock Buell Rotor seems to load up with brake pad goo and starts pulsing "yes I hvave cleaned it and good performance is short lived" if I am not cooking it up and it cools. I can still pull excellent stoppies but light pulls shudder the front end insanely. Does anyone here have experience with Twin Motorcycles Galfer wave rotor I am tempted to give them a try? Seems most people here use the EBR unit, curious if these tend to get the pulsing from build up or warping issue also. I have stock pads in at the moment I plan on trying the Ferodo pads as I was given 2 sets and have had good experiences with their products in the past. Laminar Lip no brainier. Stock rear sets are ok for me but I am more comfortable with higher and slightly more rearward peg locations what are the options for the CR if any? I might also dig into insulating the Frame Tank from engine heat to help limit gas boil off. What was that reflective insulation called? I have to say when I first got this bike I really was on the line of hating it but I now have come to like the bike more than most I have owned in past. It is proving to be dependable with basic maintenance and its always a blast to ride. I have also done 400 mile + days with no issues other than feeling late in the day that the pegs needed to be just slightly higher to fit my frame as i am short. The bike really seems to be made for some one my size 5'4" 155lbs. its even sprung for my weight. Mahalo and Aloha  | ||
| Mrsuperbuckets |
it is probably the stock exhaust | ||
| Nikoff90 |
Yes that is a stock exhaust works fine except for crud-ding up the rear wheel. I have no issues with rear brake. Front is the issue you can actually see the buildup in the photo its that golden rust color. | ||
| Terrys1980 |
I had the Galfer on my XB9 and I loved it. It makes a sweet swirling sound when braking. I put EBC HH pads on with it.  | ||
| Dannybuell |
Insulation: Years ago there was a thread here that sent me to http://www.aerogel.com/ Rearsets: I bookmarked this a while back. http://cyclepirates.com/main/select_by_bike?bike_i d=79&class=year_form&productline_id=15 'jdugger' has discussed brakes more than anyone else on this site. He is an expert, search using the multi-colored google icon at the top of the page. As I recall there are all kinds of issues if you want to get to the next level in braking performance starting with the master cylinder, rotor to wheel alignment, wear and tear, servicing issues... | ||
| Nikoff90 |
From what i found in the searches it seems the EBR rotor is the way to go. | ||
| Wymaen |
Nikoff90, I have a set of used Cycle Pirates adjustable pegs and mounts I got off eBay that I've never used; they're a sort of hideous orange color, but I'd send them your way if you shot me a reasonable offer. Let me know if you're interested. | ||
| Terrys1980 |
http://www.amazon.com/Galfer-DF820W-Solid-Mount-Ro tor/dp/B00GKL2B1E/ref=lh_ni_t?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A TVPDKIKX0DER | ||
| Rogue_biker |
I always thought that a rotor that has had material removed from it will lessen it's ability to absorb and shed heat. The so called "wave" rotors look cool. But since they have less material.....but don't listen to me as I know only enough to be dangerous! LOL! If I wanted to upgrade my rotor, I'd just go with the EBR one. It's thicker, and it also uses slots to ventilate brake gasses. The added thickness allows it to handle higher temperatures. On my R's original rotor and pads also developed the pulse after about 15k miles. I just replaced the rotor with a new OEM one but upgraded the pads with aftermarket Lyndell Gold from American Sport Bike: http://americansportbike.com/newdir/Item/9260 After 15k miles I've never had a pulsing problem and there is more feel to the brakes with very little brake dust build up. (Message edited by rogue_biker on November 06, 2014) | ||
| Terrys1980 |
1st issue with getting an EBR rotor these days is finding a dealer. The EBR and Galfer are both 5mm thick. The holes provide area for the gases and dust to escape and allow air to pass over every point of the brake pad surface for better pad cooling. The edges of the wave actually provide more friction for the pad. | ||
| Stevel |
There is nothing wrong with the original brake design if you do not race on a track. Brake pads are another story. Many pads generate more friction with generated heat. This isn't easy to control and can cause unpredictable lockup. It is under heavy use that the design overheats, the rotor warps and pads can start outgassing. Even heavy street use will not cause these issues. Anything that will reduce temperature will make these issues less of a problem. Back in the '70s I built a hotrod Kawasaki Z1. I fitted mag wheels and used hard coated aluminum discs. Those discs were originally designed for GP racing. They worked superbly with very predictable friction. I cannot remember the brand. They were bought in California. These were introduced during the 2 stroke days and engine braking was non-existent, so the brakes had to work much harder than today with the high compression 4 strokes. Their big advantage was the very fine matt finish that was so hard it would not polish or scratch and cooled very quickly. However, they were eventually dropped because under extreme use, the aluminum would start to melt. I never saw this myself though. I believe a rotor like this would be a huge benefit on the Buell. I think they were made of hard faced 7075 aluminum. If any of you folks remember who made them, please let me know. An additional benefit is the weight. These discs were 60% lighter. If I remember correctly, my front wheel with two discs weighted slightly over 6 lbs. | ||
| Thefleshrocket |
Unless you've got cash to burn, I'd change out the pads first, give the rotor a good sanding, and then, after the pads are broken in, perform some good, hard stops to remove any excess old pad material. In my experience, pad deposits on the rotor are highly dependent on the pad compound. Ceramics have proven to be terrible for leaving deposits; semi-metallic pads don't seem to have that trouble. Of course if you just feel like getting a new front disc, have at it! I'm about the only person on the forum who seems to pimp them, but I am a big fan of the Dunlopad HH+ compound. The part number is either SDP993 or SDP993HH. I found mine on either Amazon or Ebay. Initial bite is great when cold or hot, braking power is a significant improvement over stock, and they don't leave deposits on the rotor. | ||
| Stevel |
I have finally found these rotors and their history. These rotors were made by Harry Hunt and many were sold by Sandy Kozman, often called Kozman Rotors. They were aluminum discs and Iron plasma coated. They were used extensively in the late 70's and were mounted on many successful race bikes. Others attempted to copy Harry's design, but none worked as well as Harry's. They were very predictable and resisted wear much better than all iron rotors, but went into disuse, when under extreme use and overheating, the aluminum would enter a plastic state and start to ooze out between the iron cladding. This was well stated in Kevin Cameron's "Sportbike Performance Handbook". Perhaps today's technology could resolve those faults. Having used those rotors myself, the feel and predictability was, even today, the best I have ever experienced. In my research, I also discovered that Erik Buell in his earlier days, delved into the technology with aluminum discs laminated with stainless steel, similar to the cooking pot technology of copper cladding. However, it did not work well, unlike Harry Hunt's discs. I believe the solution could be iron clad titanium discs or metal matrix composite (MMC), specifically AlSic. Other coatings like Keronite might be even better than Iron. I will pursue this further, as I think laser cutting a disk of 6AlV4 Titanium and using that as a substrate is economical. | ||
| 1313 |
Terrys1980, From the pic you posted, it appears as though your front brake line is improperly routed. There was a recall to route the front brake line on the outside of the front forks. My '09 1125CR came properly routed and I made sure I routed the front brake line on my '08 XB12XT when I put the ZTL2 setup on it. Sorry for the interruption and back to the topic at hand, 1313 | ||
| Nikoff90 |
There is always the carbon option that is for ones with more funds available than myself.  | ||
| Stevel |
Nikoff90, Carbon discs do not work on the street. They only work well once their temperature exceeds about 300C. The way to go is dual discs, but for perimeter discs, the increased mass in conventional materials is a non-starter. The Hunt discs offered a 67% weight savings. In Titanium, the weight savings would be around 50% and would be acceptable. | ||
| Nikoff90 |
Buell 1125 carbon ZLT conversion kit, street use Product number: ILMSIC.001.BUELS.K Price excl. VAT: € 2.058,73 Product description Buell 1125 R and CR and ZTL buell XB Carbon Brake disk kit, kit contains special Carbon brak disk 430mm x 7,5 mm weight 800 gr. 4 brake pads, mounting hardware for the disk please note that your ZLT2 8 piston caliper needs to be sent to us for modification. please mail us for pricing and delivery off a new Buell ZTL2 caliper. when converting from a 6 piston system, the brake line and master cylinder needs to be replaced. | ||
| Nikoff90 |
I will be happy to test this under different conditions for them and post up a rolling review if they send me a test unit. | ||
| Stevel |
You may note that in MotoGP at least, the carbon discs are always changed to iron in rain conditions. This is done because carbon does not work well when cold. | ||
| Nikoff90 |
Iron disks were not that good when wet either from my experience, I found I needed to drag the front brake before it was needed on my GSXR in the rain when it had the iron brembo rotors. No, I actually have not seen much racing in years as it is not available on any of my media channels without a larger investment than I am willing to make. (Message edited by nikoff90 on November 09, 2014) | ||
| Dannybuell |
Living in Portlandia (very rainy); There is nothing more dangerous than grabbing your brakes and nothing. Wet weather means keeping heat in the rotor and pads. |
